The Realities of Journalism in Syria
I found this interview in today's online edition of The Arab Press Network, a product of the WAN. You can find the whole interview here. What is your reaction to Mr. Bayrakdar's comments? Does the picture he paints about doing journalism in Syria reflect your experiences?
Faraj Bayrakdar, a Syrian journalist who lives in exile in Sweden after he spent altogether 14 years in prison in his home country on how it was working as a journalist in Syria:
''It was as though I weren't a journalist. The profession was a trap. You were basically expected to write glowing tributes to the "leader of the nation", even if you had to hold your nose to do it. For a journalist who opposed the regime, the horizon ended at the door of a prison cell. That was Syria back then and that is Syria today. In such a climate, there is no place for journalism... With a few exceptions, of course, because there are always those with a death wish who are prepared to sacrifice themselves''.
(The Arab Press Network, 10/10/08)
Faraj Bayrakdar, a Syrian journalist who lives in exile in Sweden after he spent altogether 14 years in prison in his home country on how it was working as a journalist in Syria:
''It was as though I weren't a journalist. The profession was a trap. You were basically expected to write glowing tributes to the "leader of the nation", even if you had to hold your nose to do it. For a journalist who opposed the regime, the horizon ended at the door of a prison cell. That was Syria back then and that is Syria today. In such a climate, there is no place for journalism... With a few exceptions, of course, because there are always those with a death wish who are prepared to sacrifice themselves''.
(The Arab Press Network, 10/10/08)
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© 2012 Created by Arne Grauls.
